The Ashen One
by Jack Writes for Some Reason
Summary: Nameless, accursed Undead, unfit to even be cinder and so it is that ash seeketh embers.
1. Cemetery of Ash and Iudex Gundyr

_**Yes, indeed.**_

 _ **It is called Lothric, where the transitory lands of the Lords of Cinder converge. In venturing north, the pilgrims discover the truth of the old words:**_

 _ **"The fire fades, and the lords go without thrones."**_

 _ **When the link of fire is threatened, the bell tolls, unearthing the old Lords of Cinder from their graves. Aldrich, Saint of the Deep, Farron's Undead Legion, the Abyss Watchers, the reclusive lord of the Profaned Capital, Yhorm the Giant.**_

 _ **Only, in truth... the Lords will abandon their thrones. And the Unkindled will rise.**_

 _ **Nameless, accursed Undead, unfit to even be cinder and so it is that ash seeketh embers...**_

* * *

The bell tolls as a knight slowly emerges from his final resting place. With one hand on the side, he brings himself up to the light. Glancing at the vast landscape in front of him, his purpose was still unknown. He was in a graveyard. Graves were as far as the eye could see, but there was still light breaking though the clouds. Finally taking use of his legs, the knight rose, getting out of the coffin one foot at a time. He took his helmet off, and looked himself over. A suit built from solid iron, a long sword sheathed on his right side, and a shield on his back. He felt something on his right hand so he removed his gauntlet. Upon further examination of his finger, he noticed that he had a small ring on, a red jewel was in the middle of it. He put the gauntlet back on, and noticed an orange flask clipped to his belt. Taking the flask off his belt, and took a swig of it. One third of it vanished down his throat and he felt energized. He clipped it back onto his belt, and put his helmet back on as well.

"W-Where am I?" the knight finally asked himself, hoping to have someone just respond out of nowhere, willing to answer all of the questions he had. He knew that no one would respond. He decided to start walking, and an orange inscription on the ground caught his eye. He knelt down. It was obvious that it was some type of writing, but he couldn't tell what they said. While he was getting back up, he noticed a figure facing away from him.

"Excuse me, sir? Could you inform me of where we are?" The supposedly human being turned to him, revealing that this man had lost several if not all of his marbles. His dark blue gown was stained all over, dirt covered it. His face was covered by the hood that rested on his head. He was grasping tightly onto a broken short-sword in his right hand.

"Nevermind," the knight said, placing his hand on his concealed weapon and his other hand was already reaching for his shield. "I think I can find my way... so I'll be going now..." The hallow made no sound, but quickly closed the gap in between the two as the unkindled grabbed his sword and shield. At the last second, the knight raised said shield, the broken sword slamming against it with little force. He rose and quickly stabbed the warden where he stood. The defeated fell to the ground, releasing a couple dozen souls that the knight accidentally inhaled. He coughed, but felt better after a short while. He felt somewhat... stronger. Like he was fighting as two now...

He turned and saw another path. Walking through the water slowly, he saw a glowing sphere being held tightly by a crumpled up corpse. After an attempt to slowly bend the owner back, not hurting the corpse, it snapped in two. The knight backed up and screamed, raising his weapons.

It took him a minute to realize that this dead would stay dead, unlike the types in Drangleic.

He grabbed the glowing orb which he realized was a huge clump of souls. He stuffed them into his pocket, and they soon vanished from his load. He thought he had lost them, and immediately touched them when he stuck his hand into his pockets. He sighed in relief, and continued back to where he had the encounter with the undead.

He came upon a broken bird pool, the sun shining through the clouds down onto him. Another hallow was laying down next to the pool for birds, and a dead adventurer was leaning against it. When the knight approached the duo, the grave warden rapidly rose to his feet. He still had his weapons ready, and he struck the attacker before he could even land a single hit. Inhaling more souls, he knelt in front of the deceased elite knight.

"Damn," he muttered, under his breath. He saw a different kind of flask on the belt of this particular knight. He unhitched it from his belt, and examined it. It was blue instead of orange. He didn't dare to try due to the small amount that was present in the bottle. He put it on his belt next to the orange one. He rose to his feet, and looked around.

There were three paths. One to the left, one to the right, and the one straight down the middle that looked like the way out. An archer stood guard down the middle path. He thought, and believed that a well timed ambush down the left path could catch the archer off guard. He walked up the small incline, and another grave warden met him. He stabbed swiftly and fatally, the hallow fell, dead, letting go of his precious souls. The knight turned a corner and saw the archer, still unaware of his location, but the second the knight began walking down the stairs, the archer turned towards him and began loading a bolt into his crossbow. At this time, he saw that the bolt's tip had been engulfed in fire. The unkindled rolled towards the archer in a panic. Luckily, the archer didn't expect his opponent to be this confident in his attack and he shot right over the rolling mad man. The knight's fear that was mistaken as confidence proved beneficial as he got to his feet and slashed the archer into two. More souls flowed into him.

He looked towards the path that was once to the right of him. Two wardens of the graves rose, and immediately charged him. He had gotten used to these unworthy foes, and dispatched of them quickly, along with their buddy who was just slamming his fist against a destroyed wall. When he turned to continue down the route he was taking, another soul clump caught his eye, but this one was once part of a grave warden who got his bucket kicked fairly recently. He grabbed the clump off of the dead body and looked it over. It was gleaming a lot less than the previous one he picked up was, but it still held energy. He put the soul into his pocket.

He looked down the final alternate way. He saw another orange marking scribbled under the water, but this time he could read it.

"Turn back," he said, reading the message aloud. He scoffed. "C'mon, how hard could it be?" He resumed his jog of a pace and shortly came upon another section of the graveyard and also... a large, monstrous beast sitting in the corner. It stood out like red on white with it's gleaming blue coat... not coat, crystal-like exterior... not crystal-like, an actual crystal exterior.

The beast immediately took notice to the newcomer in the place he called home. The crystal lizard roared, got into a ball, and rolled towards his new opponent. The knight rolled to the left at the last second as the lizard smashed into the wall, both having no wounds. He ran towards the small-house-sized animal and slashed at the beast. It felt pain, but not nearly as much as the previous foes he had encountered.

It roared once more, and swiped at the damage-dealer. The unkindled flew a few feet back, feeling weaker than he ever had before. He unclipped the flask as quickly as he could, and after a quick chug, he put it back in place. He felt better as if the attack had never happened in the first place. With this new found sense of comfort, he ran at the beast a second time, swinging several times before backing up as the crystal being swiped again. As the gap between the two grew bigger and bigger, it jumped in the air towards the knight, smashing into the ground, releasing crystals from the ground to be shot out at an incredible fast pace. The knight swung several more times, and the lizard respond with slamming itself into the knight, causing immense pain.

He burst into a scream that mimiced the pain his entire body felt. He crushed the lizard's arm with the power of his next swipe. The lizard was sent back, stunned. He ran towards the beast for one last, killing blow. His sword went through the crystal being's unprotected underbelly, and it fell to the ground and released its souls. More souls than all of the grave wardens combined. He fell to the ground, gasping for air.

He had overcome the beast. He felt... confident, smart, tactical, strategic, brave, powerful, and other emotions clouded his mind. A smile formed on his face as he rose and looked over his victim. One of the scales had become loose and he ripped it off. The animal vanished into dust. the He looked his new treasure over. Thinking that it could be worth something, he shoved it into his pocket. He noticed yet another soul clump in front of a grave and picked it up.

"Well, I think I've got a good start here," he said, heading back to the path he was meant to take since the beginning.

As he began climbing the cliff, a castle came into view to his right. It was quite tall, and he turned around, realizing that it had been there all along, and a lot bigger than expected. He turned to face forward once more and saw a bell tower.

"There you are..." he mumbled, his hidden face gleaming with excitement. He turned to his left and saw a sword in coals that was unlit. He came close to it, squatted down, and held his hand above it to see if it let off any heat. The bonfire then burst into flames, scaring the living shit out of him. He backed away, but was soon drawn back to it for the warmth it gave to him. As he sat around it, he felt himself get heavier just a bit. He saw that the flask he had taken a drink out of had been replenished to it's full state. He felt better, he felt comforted. He stood, ready to get to the bell tower as soon as he could.

Walking down the path, a grave warden with a small buckler and spear stood in front of him and another grave warden who was armed with a crossbow. He killed both of them in a matter of seconds, and took a right downhill towards another part of the cliff. Three grave wardens stood, all holding actual short-swords that weren't broken. They all ran at him in a mad fury. Although they were killed quickly, one scraped the knight's face. He cussed, but continued, taking a right down a bit to a little area with another spear and crossbow duo. Both were killed quickly, and he was about to pick up what he thought were more souls, but they were actually firebombs. Small brown spheres perfect for lighting on fire for a small, compact, and deadly explosion. Putting the newly found group of items into his pocket, he rose back up to where he was, and noticed three more undead guarding a courtyard. He killed the lot of them easily, and saw a ledge that he could easily climb. The knight threw his arm up, rose himself up, and picked up a small grey stone. He assumed this also had some value, and shoved it into his pouch.

Jumping down, he approached the courtyard and saw a large figure with a sword stuck into him who was frozen in a kneeling position. Coming closer to his paralyzed adversary, he saw that this figure was a knight, three times his size. The larger one of the two's armor was gray, but had rusted over time, and a halberd sat upright in front of him.

"Do you need help?" the knight asked his fellow, one story tall knight. No response. "I hope that means yes." He put his hands onto the sword and pulled as hard as he could. It came out like butter, and the judge responded with a sudden, although slow, rise as he grabbed his halberd. He looked at his 'savior' and lunged towards him, his halberd coming straight towards the unkindled's chest.

 _SHINK_

The halberd ignored the armor entirely, stabbing straight threw the knight's chest and coming out his back. A shriek was heard throughout the land; it's origin being a very unfortunate man who just wanted to help someone out. He was thrown towards the entry point he used previously. He tried to escape, but a wall made of pure fog blocked his way. Coughing up blood, he took a quick sip of Estus, his wounds healing almost simultaneously, the hole in his stomach shrinking. He rose to his feet, and ran towards the tower of a knight. His blade didn't stab through the judge's armor, but Iudex Gundyr could feel the beating he was receiving. He feel back down to his knees.

"Don't mess with me!" said the knight, his voice full of confidence. Directly after the warning, the fallen knight's arm transformed into a huge brown arm with a claw. A large, black, puss like thing emerged from his head, new eyes were formed at the top of the monstrosity that were neon red. "Oh."

The arm scrapped against the water, and went upright causing the knight to fly towards the exit once more. With another sip of estus, he ran towards his transformed foe. Although the sword cut through the black puss easier, but it didn't have the same impact it did before. The freak of nature backed up, and charged him again. This time, he was ready.

He rolled to the left, dodging the lunge in the nick of time. He immediately turned around after getting back on his feet, and ran the sword down the judge for the last time. The huge beast exploded into souls, more than all of the previous enemies had. A wave of fire spat out of the ground, a bonfire emerged in the midst of it. The knight approached it, lit it, and curled up around, falling asleep.


	2. The Fire Keeper

After a long night of rest, the knight's eyes cracked open to the sound of the bell tolling once more.

"Someone is impatient," he muttered as he stood up. He stretched his arms and yawned while doing so. He observed himself and noticed he had cracks of... fire on himself. He put a hand over it, but it remained there. He didn't feel any different so he just put it aside. He looked forward and finally saw a double-door that would lead him to his next destination. Walking towards it, he could see that the bell tower was almost in his reach. Why was it even calling him in the first place? He sighed, and put his hands on either door, pushing with all of his might. After a few seconds full with manly grunts that felt like a few hours, the doors budged out of the way.

The first thing that caught his eye was yet another glowing object. He ran to it, and picked it up, hoping it to be more souls or perhaps more bombs. He was very disappointed to find a broken straight sword lying in a rather useful object's place. He threw it on the ground. He continued to walk forward, stopping just before he would have fallen off a cliff. While stopping himself, he looked to his left and saw one grave warden in a fetal position, and one with a spear standing next to him.

He approached the duo, and the spear-man caught the knight in his gaze, and lunged at him. The knight backstepped away, and retaliated with a sword swing that just ended up slamming into the broken shield. The curled up finally took notice when his brother took a sword to the shield and stood up, wielding a broken straight sword. The knight just jabbed the aroused one quickly, ending it's presence in the encounter. It's limp body fell off the cliff, his spear-wielding sibling not giving a damn about his friend's corpse falling into the abyss. The man who lost a brother lowered his guard for a minute and tried to impale the knight through his solid iron plate. He blocked the attack causing the man to stubble and then receive a sword to the gut.

The souls joined together and went into the knight as he continued down the narrow cliff-side, noticing another gleaming object at the end of it. He ran towards it, his hopes up that it wouldn't be the same disappointment that the previous shiny item was. He picked up...

"A bone?" he said to himself, aloud. He was confused alright. Why would a normal ol' bone be at the end of this path? And why would it be this noticeable if it was just a plain bone? He could rip off a leg and bam, same thing, right? "I'll hold onto it just in case, I guess..." he muttered, stuffing it in his pocket. He went back to the door he came out of, and decided to try scaling up the hill.

He saw two more grave wardens in fetal positions as he walked up some stairs, and decided that maybe engaging them quickly would be the easier way to deal with them.

He did exactly that, running at them and then swiping in between the two twice, disposing of both foes quite fast, but his victory was met with a flaming arrow to penetrate his armor. He held back a scream, and traced the arrow's origin to another duo of grave wardens, one an archer and once again, a spear-man. He ran at the two and swung his sword, killing the archer, but just bashing against the other's broken shield.

"Are you kidding me?" he said, swiping multiple times to just have the shield give way, and to slash straight through flesh. He put his weapons to his side, and yawned. He was still tired, and almost none of the hallows were giving him a run for his money.

He ascended up another set of stairs, and was met with the entrance to where the bell tower was. Before going in though, he decided to explore the areas on either side of the entrance.

He would have flipped a coin, but he only had a bone, some weaponry, a bomb, strange pieces of metal-like substances, and souls so he just went to the right first. He whistled as he walked, not hearing or seeing anything till the last second.

"BARK!" a dog barked, as it pounced the knight, causing him to fall to the ground. The canine didn't have a scrap of flesh on it whatsoever, it was only bone with two eyes that glared down at him. It started to rip at the armor, but before it could do any significant damage to the plate, he threw it off of him, and backed up next to the loot. It barked once more and jumped, but the knight threw his shield up. After the mutt crashed into metal, the knight responded the best way he knew how; slashing with his sword. The limp corpse fell to the ground, and the knight claimed his prize from the fallen individual that leaned against the grave.

He picked it up, and it was as if a bonfire was lying in his hands. It was hot to the touch, but it didn't seem to affect him in the way he thought it did. He looked over himself again, his body mimicking the same patterns that this object was.

"But, what does this do for me?" he asked. Yet another question that most likely no one would answer to him. He returned to the front of the bell tower, and veered off to the left this time. Walking among more coffins, he went up more stairs and saw a man off in the distance. Before approaching him, he saw a tree to his left that held a body within it's branches with another useful trinket. Except it wasn't a trinket, it was a shield. The glow masked smaller items, but it couldn't mask something this large. Almost on cue, two grave wardens came down some stairs to congratulate him on his discovery.

They just ran at him, and he just cut them down. There broken swords were no match to his excellence. Well, what he thought was excellence. He climbed the stairs that they had came from, and ran a bit. He then came upon yet another ember, and went back to facing the man.

"Hey, um, man?" he asked, unable to establish his gender from that distance. He walked a bit closer to him, and saw that he had a katana in his hand, and nothing in his other hand. His dead eyes stared the knight down where he stood, almost begging him to come closer so he could have the satisfaction of another kill. "Uh, I'm just going to go now..." he said, backing up. The individual finally responded by running towards him, his blade drawn.

"Please no," the knight said, putting his sword up. "I don't wanna fight, man," he said. The older being didn't care. He slashed against the shield multiple times in rapid succession, causing the knight to stagger. He shrieked and ran towards the bell tower entrance, his foe hot on his heels. He ran inside and saw two sets of stairs going up, and then two sets of stairs going down. He didn't care about any of them, and jumped off the ledge right into the middle.

"Oh my! Are you ok?" a voice asked him. He got up from his fall, and looked around the area he jumped right into. There was a man off to his right, who glanced up at him, chuckled, and looked back down. A women approached him, dressed in black. She had something over her eyes... she couldn't see him, but she knew where he was. She walked up to him, and bent down.

"I-I think I'm fine," he managed to say, getting up.

"Welcome to the bonfire, Unkindled one," the woman said. "I am a Fire Keeper." 'Fire keeper? What's that?' the knight thought to himself. "I tend to the flame, and I tend to thee. The lords have left their thrones, and must be deliver'd to them. To this end, I am at thy side." She looked about his age, but he felt like she must be decades, maybe even centuries, older than him.

"Uh, hi," he said. "I am, the unkindled one, I guess." The Fire Keeper looked at him, puzzled.

"Do you not have a name, unkindled one?" she asked him. He looked down at his leggings.

"Well, I kinda just emerged from a grave in the outskirts of a graveyard not too far from here when I heard a bell, I fought some big guy, and then ran from a being that held a katana," he said. "So, I have no idea what my name is in the slightest."

"Good so you defeated Iudex Gundyr I see," she replied. "And you had trouble with the Sword Master on the side of the shrine?" He nodded in response. "Here, let me help you ashen one." She led him out of Firelink shrine and to the way the Sword Master was, and he was still there. "Try again, I'll be here watching."

"O-Okay," he managed to spit out, looking towards the Sword Master once more. He ran towards him, his shield up. The sword master saw his prey once more, and readied his katana. He lunged towards the knight, slamming against it only twice and missing the third swipe. The knight slashed at the master, flesh prying away from the slashed man's body. The master didn't take this lightly, and tore through the knight's armor three times before backing off and surrounding him.

The knight was breathing deeply, covering one of his wounds with one hand, the other held up his shield, ready just in case the man decided to attack again. He suddenly felt better, and looked at the fire keeper. She had a talisman, and nodded.

"Try again, I'm right here for you," she said. He nodded, and put his sword back in his hand. The old hallow was about to jump at him, but the knight slashed faster than his katana made contact. The hurt one staggered, and continued to receive the lashing the unkindled was handing him. He then kicked the sword master off the edge, and the master fell to his death. He stood over the edge looking down where his foe would have fell. He felt triumphant. He stuck a pose.

He then heard laughing, and immediately zipped around. The fire keeper wasn't laughing when he looked, but he could see her smile. He laughed a bit, and sat down, his legs dangling off the edge. The fire keeper sat down next to him.

"You'll get better," she said to him. "You're just learning."

"I guess," he muttered. "But what am I suspected to do anyway?" he asked her. "I'm just some ol' knight." He gazed off into the mountains in front of him, and the fire keeper tapped him on the shoulder, trying to get his attention. He looked over at her, their eyes locked.

"I already told you," she answered. "You need to deliver the lords to their thrones."

"But what does that mean?" he said, asking yet another question. "Deliver?" She sighed.

"The lords rose because Prince Lothric didn't light the fire. The tower rung, awakening a bunch of unkindled including yourself, and the previous lords of cinder."

"What's a 'lord of cinder'?"

"A lord of cinder is someone who decides to continue with a new age of fire, and lives to tell the tale. The next lord of cinder comes into play when they defeat the previous one and survive lighting the fire," she said. "Do you understand a bit more now?"

"I think..." he said, still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "So... three lords of cinder came back when the prince didn't light the fire so they came back to try and light it?" She nodded.

"Continue."

"Meaning that I or any other unkindled, need to kill the lords of cinder and the prince so that we can be the next in line?"

"Exactly!" she said.

"That sounds like a long task," he said.

"It may be, but at least you'll always have somebody to cheer you on," she said as she smiled. He nodded. "Follow me, we need to start a fire."


	3. Firelink Shrine

He followed his new friend back to the bell tower entrance.

"This, is Firelink Shrine," she said, walking down the stairs to where the knight first jumped down. "Many fire keepers have been here before me, and many other unkindled have rose to the challenge. Gundyr was one of them, but he was without a fire keeper so he couldn't draw out his true strength. So, there he sits, waiting to challenge any future unkindled." They were at the bottom now, surrounding a tray full of ash.

"What's this?" the knight asked her.

"This will be a bonfire, very soon," she said. "You just need to impale it with that coiled sword you retrieved from Gundyr's abdomen." The knight stuck his hand in his pocket, and took out the sword. He stabbed the ash, and pushed down on the blade. It was quickly devoured in flame, and lava splashed out from the tray. He had created a bonfire.

He jumped for joy, and the fire keeper giggled at him.

"Now, all you need to do is travel to the High Wall of Lothric," she said, trying to mask her smile.

"How will I do that?" asked the knight. He really liked finally having his questions answered.

"Just rest at the bonfire, and wish that you were there," she answered. "It's as easy as that."

"That easy? Wow," he muttered. So much for any other kind of transportation.

"But before you go, you should speak to the other people here," she said. "They will all introduce themselves when they seem fit." The knight nodded, and walked over to hunched over on his left.

"Hello," the knight said to him.

"Ahh, another one, roused from the sleep of death? Well, you're not alone. We unkindled are worthless. Can't even die right. Gives me Conniptions."

"He-" the knight said, before he was cut off by the man.

"I'm still talking," he said, not waiting for the knight to respond before he continued speaking. "And they'd have us seek the Lords of Cinder, and return them to their moulding thrones. But we're talking true legends with the mettle to link the fire. We're not fit to lick their boots. Don't you think?"

"You obviously have no faith," the knight said, finally being allowed to speak.

"Well do you?" he asked. "You just walked out of a coffin, granted life once more, and your wish is to fight a giant, a heap of sludge, a legion, and a prince? You're just a knight like me, we don't have a chance against any of those monstrosities they call lords. What makes you think that you stand a chance?" He didn't answer the deserter. The man scoffed at the knight. "Get out of my sight."

The knight sulked away from the crestfallen and saw a grandma esc character in a hallway. He walked over to her.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, ashen one. I am but a humble handmaiden of the shrine. Weapons, armor, trinkets, and spells... I've lots of little things to ease the burden of a weary traveler. And yes, I'm undead, too, but not so charitable as to give my goods away. Ashen one, fetch souls, and bring them to me. As is thy wont, no?" The haidmaiden asked after her long introduction.

"Uh, sure," he said, no really understanding a thing she said except that she sold stuff. "Can I take a look at your stock?"

"But of course," she said. She laid everything she had out in front of him. He looked it over, and the first thing that caught his eye was the mini bonfire ash. He picked it up and looked it over.

"What is this?" he asked her, still examining the object.

"Why, that's an ember!" she said. "An ember makes you stronger, and it draws the good and the bad to your world. Interested?"

"No thanks," he said, putting it down. "I already have one and I'm guessing I'm 'embered' right now." Another item caught his eye. A bone. "And why is this bone 500 souls?"

"That's no ordinary bone," she answered, taking it out of his hands. "This transports you back to the last bonfire you rested at." He nodded, and picked up yet another item. A white soapstone. "That's what you need to help others. Only 500 souls."

"I'll take it," he said, putting it in his pocket. "So, how do we do this transact-" he was cut off by a sudden loss of energy. She had inhaled the promised 500 souls.

"Thank you kindly," she said. He ran off in the opposite direction, confused out of his mind about what just happened to him. "Be sure to bring me more souls!" she yelled after him. He ran up to a blacksmith who was slamming his mallet into a piece of iron.

"Well, a newcomer I see. I am Andre, I serve at this shrine as a humble smith forging new weapons. You're in search of the Lords of Cinder, I trust?" the smith asked him. He nodded in response, and the old man continued. "A toilsome journey, I wager. You'll require good arms. Let me smith y' weapons. I am a smith, such is my duty."

"Sounds good," he said. "By the way, since you're a smith, do you have any idea what these are used for? They seem similar to metal..." He pulled the crystal lizard's scale out and the shard that he found on top of the coffin before he fought the judge.

"Why, this is titanite," the smith said, examining both of the pieces over. "The scale is used for unusual weapons, something that Ludleth would create out of a soul. The shard is used for things such as your sword." He gave the pieces back to the knight. "Anything else I can do you for?"

"These flasks," he asked, placing both of them on his anvil. He trusted him more than the handmaiden and the other warrior so he thought it fit to ask him. "What are they for? When I drink the orange one, my wounds are healed, but I have no idea about this... blue liquid."

"Are you wanting to use magic in any way?" the old smith asked him. He shook his head. The smith then did something indescribable. Someone, he converted the blue liquid into orange and put it in the other flask. "There," he said, handing him the larger orange full flask and the empty blue tainted flask. "The blue one was just use for magic, but seeing that you're not going to use it, you have no need for it." The knight nodded.

"Well, I must be off," the knight said, turning around.

"Prithee be careful!" the smith shouted after him. "I don't want to see me work squandered!"

The knight was about to talk to the fire keeper, but then say a rather small man sitting in a throne to the right of the largest one. He ran up the stairs, and fell onto the platform the throne laid on. He walked up to the man.

"Oh, thou'rt unkindled, and a seeker of lords. I am Ludleth of Courland. Look not in bewilderment as I say... I linked the fire long ago, becoming a lord of cinder. If substantiation be thy want, set thine eyes upon my charred corse. This sad cadav'r. No need to be coy, have a closer look," the exiled man said to him. The knight was speechless, still unable to cope with this odd tongue. _Maybe I'm just dumb_ , the knight thought to himself. He looked at the lord, and fell down to the ground. "Treat the fire keeper not with discourtesy. She is much like thee. Prisoners, both, kept to link the fire."

He felt like that was obvious, why would he be rude or harsh to her? She was kind as ever, but he could imagine people killing her just for the fun of it. The thought of that made him angry. She was so hospitable, how could anyone want to hurt her? He sighed, and approached the only person on his mind.

"I'm guessing you met everyone?" she asked him.

"Yup," he responded. "Ludleth, Andre, the Haidmaiden, and that guy," he said, listing off the people he met, and pointing at the crestfallen at the end of it.

"Well then, it is time for you to embark on your journey then," she said, still standing in front of the newly created bonfire. "Just think of being on the high wall, and there you will appear."

"How do I get back though?" he asked. "Or, do I come back at all? And how can I overcome obstacles like that Sword Master without your help?"

"Oh, yes, I forgot to explain that," she said. "My bad... You use souls to buy things and you also use them to draw out your true strength."

"And how do I do that?" he asked her.

"You bow before me, and I shall use the souls you have to make you stronger," she said. "It may sound weird, but that's how it works." He nodded. He knelt before her. "Touch the darkness within me, take nourishment from these sovereignless souls." He focused on what he wanted if he grew stronger. More strength, some more intelligence, able to run farther distances maybe.

After these wishes were thought, the knight felt power leave him, but also enter him. He had a lot less souls, but he now felt stronger than ever.

"That's it?" he asked her. She nodded.

"And you can come back here whenever you desire. Just think of this place when you lay at a bonfire, and you will be here." Everything was new to him, but he was starting to put the pieces together.

"Thank you," he said, before he rested at the bonfire. He stuck his hand out for a shake. "See you soon, friend." She chuckled, and shook his hand.

"Farewell, ashen one," she said. He rested at the bonfire, and thought of a place he had never been to before.

A high wall.

* * *

 **This was just a chapter to establish some basic concepts, items, and characters.**


	4. Gained Knowledge

He awoke in a small room over a grate. He looked behind him and saw light gleaming out behind wood onto a basin with a small coiled sword laying on it's side.

"Huh, what a coincidence," he muttered, turning back and seeing a closed door that lay atop a small staircase. He arose the small obstacle and pushed his hands on the double doors. It seemed as if it hadn't been opened for centuries. Light and a large castle out in the distance greeted him when the doors swung wide open.

He walked along the flagstones of the wall and approached a set of stairs, three of them to be exact, that led down to a bonfire and a splitting path. He jogged down to the bonfire, and lit it once it was in front of him. He saw trees that appeared to have grown out of corpses. The legs extended so they were given a tree like shape while the hands were extended outward as if they were trying to grasp something. The knight then gazed at the two pathways, and saw that there were two ways to go on the right so he went up to the crack in the wall.

It led to a small wooden platform that overlooked the rest the area. He could see the stairs he would have taken if he had decided to go the other route this way. He then turned to his right, and saw an archer curled up in a ball next to him. The instant he stepped on the platform the archer stood up. He was different than the grave wardens he was accustomed to. He looked like a soldier with his whole get-up and the helmet that was strapped to his head. Still, the helmet didn't cover his eyes, that were as red as blood. The archer had the same fire-tipped arrows with a crossbow, but before he could even load it, the knight ended his existence in a matter of seconds.

The knight then took to examining the small area in front of him. There were at least a dozen statues clutching onto candles only two of which were lit, there were more corpse trees, but now there were hallows praying underneath them. They seemed to be in normal garb, nothing special. They appeared to be townsfolk of some kind.

Before he could get a better look at this new, unexplored place...

 ** _BARK_**

He looked right down and saw a dog charge up the stairs towards him. The knight turned and put his shield up as the dog's rapid footsteps grew louder. The dog barked again, and pounced the shield. Although there wasn't a tearing of armor this time, knock-back still existed.

The Ashen One fell down to the flagstones below, and frantically looked around to see if there were any people who would oppose him. He saw a large hallow with a halberd that seemed to just be walking his dog. The hallows he had labeled as townsfolk were now crouched over, grabbing their heads, scared for their lives. He saw the dog come back the stairs, but right as it pounced, the knight slammed the dog with his shield, and stabbed the mutt while he was on the ground. The welp that came from the now deceased pup caused the other dog to notice the canine-killer, and ran at him. The unkindled used the same technique, and prepared for a fight with a large man with an over sized toothpick per say.

The toothpick wielder ran at the undead, and did a quick, low swipe. He jumped over the large blade, kicked the hallow to make it lose balance for a second, and back-stabbed it in a few swift motions. The now back missing man stood back up, hungry for more, but was killed in mere seconds. His friend, Large Ax-Man, then appeared up some stairs, and ran towards the murderer, slamming his large ax onto him with all his weight.

The knight coughed blood and stood, facing the evildoer. He was slower now, but he was now the same speed as his foe. They did a few rounds of just staring at each other until the smaller of the two devised a plan.

He would provoke the brute with his shield up, baiting a swing, and then he would go in for his attack, then rinse and repeat until one fell dead. It sounded upright dumb, but the larger one of the two didn't seem to bright, you know, being a hallow and all.

The knight walked right up to the axer (that's what he'll be known as from this point on), and slammed his shield into him. The only affect it had was a slightly pissed off axer, and he jumped with another slamming ax attack. The knight blocked this, and with the little strength he had left in him, he hit the axer a few times. Then, he put his shield up, and did it all again.

After three successful attacks, a back-stab, and one screw up that ended with a black eye for the knight, the axer fell over, dead. The knight was breathing deeply, his back wound aching every time wind brushed against it. He drank from his orange flask twice in a row, and he touched his back. Nothing, just a normal back.

"Magic," he said to himself, walking down the stairs that the axer had come from. He saw a glowing blur on a body that drew his attention, and ran to it.

Another soul clump.

As if on cue, a curled up hallowed soldier that was sitting next to it got up, and ran his sword towards the knight. He moved to the left, and the man's sword hit a wall, and the knight back-stabbed him.

"Sad," he muttered, looking at a tower that had a door on it. He walked up to it, and tried to open it gingerly. It didn't budge. He tried again, this time with more force, and the door still didn't budge. He examined the knob, and saw that there was no keyhole on it. He attempted to squeeze his hand through the bars to try the other side, but he couldn't reach the opposite knob. He gave up, and went back up the stairs, now ascending the other set of stairs that laid behind the corpses of the axer and his buddy with his dog. After going up the stairs, he saw more people praying, and one archer. He obviously pinned that as his target, and ran towards him. His sword went through the former soldier's armor like butter, but a bigger problem arose. One of the hallows praying, one that didn't have a shirt on, rose and screamed, his body overtaken by a disease he might have had.

"Are you shitting me," the knight said, his mouth gaping. It was another puss monster, but it emerged from a simple citizen, not a judge.

It whipped around violently, killing all the non-hostile hallows that surrounded it, and focused it's red, beady eyes on the knight. It had the same arm that the other one had, but he could see the man's face, lifeless yet his legs still moved towards him. It jumped at him, and the mouth of the beast opened wide. It tried to bite him, and it succeeded. It flew the man around in the air, the knight's legs seemed to be tearing apart from the rest of his body. His bones were cracking with every second. A scream from the knight could be heard every time something broke, tore, or just was subject to immense pain. He drank his final two sips of estus, but after each drink, the wounds came back. He couldn't be saved from this encounter.

Had his journey already come to an end? He could feel the final bones giving way, he could be ripped out at any time. He tried stabbing the thing, but he soon gave up. He dropped his shield and sword, and accepted his fate. His legs gave way, and he fell onto the ground, just an upper half of him remained. He groaned, and looked up at the pus of man. It seemed to grin somehow, and spat his legs off the ledge.

"I didn't need those anyway," he muttered, dropping his head back on the ground. The puss grabbed the knight with his huge claw, brought them face to face, and snarled at him, his spit crashing into the helm of the unkindled. He wasn't terrified anymore, he was just ready to die. It knew this, realizing that it wasn't having as much fun as it was before, and threw him off in the same place his legs were thrown off.

"Bye," he said to the world, as he quickly fell down into the abyss. After a few heartbreaking seconds, he slammed against the ground, and his souls left his body.

He was dead...

for now.

* * *

He awoke a few mere moments after he had been slammed into the ground by a huge monstrosity.

"W-What?" he said, touching himself over. He still had the ring, his estus had been refilled, his sword was at his side, his shield was on his back, and most importantly, his legs were in place. He tried to stand, thinking that the pain of newly stitched together legs would cause him to fall again, but he just stood like nothing had happened in the past. "Wh-What is going on!?" he screamed. He didn't understand at all. He had seen the end of his life, he had died.

He looked out towards the platform he had fallen down previously. He saw a foot, the foot of that archer he had killed. He ran up and confirmed his observation. The archer stood up, looking just as he had before a sword had ended his life.

The knight slew him quickly, and jumped down on the dog, killing it before any barks could leave it's mouth. He ran towards the halberd wielder and his mutt, killing them with extreme speed, and dispatching with the axer as if he were just a grave warden. He ran up and saw the hallow without a shirt, praying.

He sprinted towards the man, the man that was infested with this puss. He cut off it's head as quickly as he possibly could, and a puff of smoke left his body. He had killed the man along with the disease. Before he celebrated, he murdered the archer that was there as well. Next to another statue, he picked up a longbow with a dozen arrows.

It was then that his death took it's affect.

He looked over and saw a bloodstain on the ground. He crouched down next to it, and looked in the reflection of it.

"This wasn't here before..." he muttered, touching it. He then backed away as the souls refilled his body, he coughed, and finally realized that the death was real. It wasn't a joke. It wasn't a dream. It was real. The bloodstain disappeared, but he now felt loopy. "I died..." he said to himself, falling down to the ground. "I died..."

He ran as quick as a someone who had drunken just a bit too much siegbrau, and finally arrived at the bonfire. He thought of the shrine as he sat there, just wanting to be back with someone he knew...

"Ashen one?" he heard, as he opened his eyes. The fire keeper was standing near the hallway that led to the handmaiden. The crestfallen knight was sleeping, his head just lying on the stairs. The knight didn't look any different, but the fire keeper could sense some disturbance within him. "Back so soon? Is everything alright?" He didn't say anything, he just got closer to the bonfire in the middle of the shrine.

She walked up to him, sitting down next to him. She looked at his helmet, seeing his eyes through the small slit. She could see that he was already going hallow, his face looking much older than a man his age.

"I died," the knight finally said. "My legs were ripped off of my body, and I slammed down into the ground." He looked at her now. "How?"

"Unkindled don't die," she began. "At least, not after one death. After a series of deaths and after you no longer have a purpose, you go hallow. You lose your soul." He couldn't speak.

"It's just... a loop until I eventually die?" he asked her. She nodded. "Oh," he said, putting his head back down. "That sounds great..."


	5. The First Bonfire

**It has been** **too long since I updated, sorry about that folks. Happy 2017 by the way.**

* * *

"You can't let it get to you," the fire keeper said, looking down at the knight. "You already look as if you've died fifty times over. It's the stress that's getting to you. You need to fight back."

"And how do I do that?" he mumbled, still not giving a damn after hearing about this hallow business.

"You keep going. You can't just give up now. You don't know how much people I've seen go hallow from just being scared of the damn thing." She sighed, and looked up at the thrones. "As you deliver more and more ashes to those chairs of royalty, you'll start feeling better. I can guarantee it." This made the knight perk up. He stood up, and looked down at his friend.

"Then looks like I have some work to do, eh?" he asked, feeling rejuvenated almost instantly. He held out a hand to help her up, and she graciously accepted it. After pulling her back on her feet, he hugged her. "Thanks," he said, letting go. "I'll be back before you know it!" The fire keeper laughed and smiled shortly after the last giggle left her mouth.

"I'll be looking forward to your return, ashen one," she said. He smiled back, and sat down at the bonfire. He thought of the long wall with it's puss monsters and old decrepit knights.

* * *

His eyes flung open, and there he was. That familiar bonfire and those two branching pathways. He veered off to the right, knowing what laid down the other way. After going down another set of stairs, he saw more townsfolk looking men praying to the trees that seemed to be straight out of a divine comedy or the seventh circle of hell... and a knight was off to the right in-between some of them. He ran towards the obvious threat and disposed of him as quickly as he could, the soldier not having a second to react to it's limbs being torn away from a torso.

Another knight emerged from a set of descending stairs wielding a lantern and sword. The second it noticed the protagonist, it screamed, flailing the lantern as quickly as it could.

"Ha!" the human said. "Screaming doesn't help at all here!" Just as he said that, one of the once passive prayers stood up and took out a knife, and a knight sitting behind the snitch stood up with his sword in hand. "Oh." The knight slashed the once peaceful hallow in half before the other two could get into striking distance. He then jumped back and held up his shield, the attacks from both attackers producing a satisfying clank as they slammed into the shield. The battered piece of metal dropped as soon as possible, and the knight stabbed the lantern wielding fiend and slashed the head off of his enemy's companion. "Whew!" he muttered, putting his shield on his back and his sword on his side. "What a journey," he muttered as he grabbed a set of souls.

"Two paths..." he said to himself. "Up or down?" After considering the options, he decided to rise above the corpses of those he just murdered, and saw a huge dragon lay before him which he somehow didn't notice its head lying on the cobblestones below. "Good choice, man. Good choice..." he whispered to himself, believing the dragon or its killer still lived and roamed these parts. He noticed the bugs flying about the corpse, and he sighed in relief. He saw three sleeping soldiers and the lantern guy's second cousin, lantern guy. With his newfound knowledge, the knight threw three firebombs at the lantern, killing its holder.

Tip-toeing over to the three sleeping knights, he stabbed each one through the head quickly and silently. After disposing of the sleepy boys, he rose up the stairs, and saw another knight waiting to ambush him. Knowing quite well that the man was standing there, he crossed his arms and waited. Sure enough, in a few seconds, the knight saw him and ran to attack him, but somehow found himself running off the platform. The ashen one sighed and jumped down, only to stab his enemy in the head as it tried to rise. Running back up the stairs, he stabbed the sleeping guy right behind the now deceased ambusher, and picked up a set of binoculars.

"Neat," he mumbled, attaching them to his belt. He walked back down the stairs, and went over to the dragon's large tail due to their being an item he forgot to snatch off a corpse. "More firebombs," he said, stuffing them in his pocket. The knight then squinted, and noticed a opening in the cobblestones next to the bucket-kicked dragon. He looked down it, and saw another ledge.

"Might as well," he declared as he jumped down and landed on a new and mysterious platform. After some quick inspection, he came to the conclusion that there was no where to go except straight through the hole in front of him. He picked up a few pine resins. "What," he said, inspecting it. "I have no idea what this does, but I guess it must be helpful because the white light told me," he said to himself, slowly becoming self-aware of how every helpful item was basked in a white light. He looked into the room, noticing a hallowed knight who just happened to be sleeping and another white blurb behind a table. He hopped down and ran towards his sleeping-foe, killing him in two quick swipes of his longsword. After that, the ashen one waddled over to the item, picking up two firebombs, and seeing another soldier behind a stack of barrels and crates. The enemy immediately saw the our hero and ran towards him with sword in hand. He rolled out of the way of the weapon, and backstabbed the high wall inhabitant. He looked out of a blocked path and saw a soldier standing with confidence with their back turned surrounded by other soldiers and items.

"Jackpot," the knight said, turning around to face a hole in the ground that had a ladder against it. He slid down it, finding himself inside of a cage whose door was missing. He walked out of the cell and grabbed a soul clump off of a corpse right against a wall. After doing so, the knight found himself staring out towards a stairway with a few hallows guarding it. He walked up to the spearman who raised his large shield as soon as the two made eye contact. "Let's dance, pretty boy," the knight said, smirking as he went in circles with his sword drawn. The soldier went in for a strike, lowering his shield, giving the ashen one the perfect opening to get a few swipes in. As he began separating rotten flesh from broken bone, a man with a crossbow down the long alley shot a fiery bolt. The projectile lodged itself perfectly into the shoulder of the knight, avoiding the armor completely. He screamed in pain, and was stabbed in the gut shortly after several times by his attacker. After coughing up a bit of blood, he turned and attempted to run at a snail's pace up some stairs that the spear wielding one was guarding. He squinted, seeing a group of enemies and a door, which he hoped was unlocked.

He saw yet another 'axer' who jumped towards him, ax held in both hands. The knight rolled passed the blow just barely, some of his intestines scraping against the ground. The earth then began to shake and the entire group of individuals stood still. A huge dragon slammed on top of the structure that held the door mentioned earlier. The cobblestones shook with the landing of the homogeneous beast.

"Shit, shit, shit," the knight mumbled, now running towards the door. He arrived at the door, happily seeing that it was in fact open. He turned around quickly once inside and closed the door as the axe wielder tried to get in. The dragon then unleashed his deadly fiery breath, killing all of the soldiers in that section.

"Whoo!" the knight yelled, walking down some stairs. He then took a gander to the left and saw a chest. "It's my lucky day!" he yelled, running towards it. He stopped right before he opened it, and took notice to the bunch of orange scrawlings on the ground surrounding the chest. He bent down to them, and the consensus he got from reading five of them was that he shouldn't open that chest. "Fuck," he muttered, waddling over to the ladder in disappointment. Before going up the ladder, he swigged two gulps of his estus flask, and then ascended up the wooden ladder. He then opened a caged door and walked back outside into the light.

He saw an asleep soldier off to the side of the small set of stairs he descended, but immediately focused on a knight larger than him with the Lothric banner on his chest.

"Wow," our knight muttered, staring at the larger version of himself. The lothric knight quickly spotted him and charged towards him, sword in hand. Our hero rolled to the left in the neck of time, almost being pierced in the chest. "I can't deal with this..." he muttered, running past the larger individual into the tower. He looked to the right and saw a staircase going up. "My mind's telling me no... but my body, my body is telling me yes," he mumbled to himself, running up the newly found stairs at lightning speed. He slowed down near the top, his legs feeling like noodles. And then, he saw it.

It.

It's beautiful wood stacked together just perfectly. A sword was lodged inside the middle of the lumber just perfectly. A tear fell from the ashen one's eye.

"Salvation!" he yelled, running towards the unlit mess of wood. He hovered his hand over it, and fire burst up from the ground, illuminating the already lit area even more than it once was. He sat down at it, feeling his estus flask gain in weight. He thought of the firelink shrine with its thrones, blacksmith, and large open space.

"Ashen one? Why are you back so early?" he heard a familiar voice ask him. He stood up and saw the fire keeper standing over by the archway towards the blacksmith.

"I lit my first bonfire!" he said, using his hand to help himself up. She clapped for him.

"Very well done!" she said, approaching him with a fast walk. The knight felt like he was five, getting praise for everything he had done, bad or not.

"Thanks!" he said, sticking his hands into his bottomless pockets. "So, do you know anything about what's upcoming soon?"

"Hmm..." she said, sitting down on the small stairs surrounding the main bonfire. The knight sat down next to her. "I can't be sure. My memory of the vast realm is foggy besides that of the lords and where they are... I believe you'll be facing one of the outrider knights there."

"My first big encounter then," he said, staring into the ashes floating around the proximity of the fire. "I dunno if I'm ready."

"It'll be fine," she said, placing her hand on his armor-plated shoulder. "You can summon some phantoms if you need the help. You just need to be embered." He nodded.

"It's good to be optimistic, I guess," he said, looking at her. "Thanks for the help, I'm gonna get back to it." He stood, offering a hand to help her up. She took it.

"You're welcome, ashen one. I'll see you soon, with a trophy of your defeat no doubt," she said. He chuckled.

"I hope," he said, as he sat down at the bonfire, thinking about the high wall and it's lovely terror.

* * *

 **Mostly action and just some boring stuff. I intend to work on this more often, sorry for no chapters for four months. More more chapters coming soon, thanks for bearing with my inconsistent updates!**


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